My Grandpa

Just once in a while, a special talent comes along in the field of picture book making. Barcelona born Marta Altés is such a talent. Her stunning first book No! was published by Child’s Play last year and was shortlisted for Waterstones ‘Best Picture book’ and also won the ‘Read it Again Award’ (chosen by children). My Grandpa is very different in tone from her playful debut book. It deals with the issue of age, memory loss and relationships between the old and the very young. It does so with such empathy, lightness of touch and elegance that the book is an embodiment of Sendak’s description of the picture book form as a ‘visual poem’. With sparing use of just two colours, one for each character, and a graphite pencil line, the author conveys this complex and moving relationship from the child’s perspective, without ever descending into sentimentality. The beautifully designed text is similarly economic in its construction (‘Together we have travelled the world … Although sometimes he gets lost’) and is augmented by shapes that float in the white of the page.  This beautiful book has the potential to become a classic.